Tyler Austin hit his first two home runs with the Giants on Thursday

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DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 09: Starting pitcher Derek Holland #45 of the San Francisco Giants throws at in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 08, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

DENVER — The temperature at first pitch of Thursday’s series finale between the Giants and Rockies was 39 degrees, but the wind chill made it feel like a frosty 32 degrees.

As snow fell from the sky and began to stick on the warning track during the first inning, everything in sight at Coors Field was freezing.

Everything, except for the bats.

On a day that initially appeared miserable for hitters, the Rockies and Giants combined for 23 runs and 23 hits in a 12-11 Colorado win.

“In the first inning, I was like, ‘What is happening,'” Giants first baseman Tyler Austin said of the snow flurries. “I’ve never had anything like that.”

The 39-degree temperature at first pitch marked the second-coldest game in San Francisco-era history for the Giants, as a game that began in 38-degree weather in April, 2013 at Wrigley Field against the Cubs was slightly chillier.

The Giants trailed by three runs entering the top of the ninth before Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik recorded RBI hits to narrow the deficit to one. After hitting a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning on the first day of the Giants’ road trip, Stephen Vogt struck out to end Thursday’s game against Rockies closer Wade Davis.

Austin made his first start in more than a week and hit his first two home runs with the club on Thursday. After hitting a two-run homer to put the Giants on the board in the third, Austin became the first Giants player to record six RBIs in a game this year with a game-tying three-run blast in the top of the sixth.

“He touched both of those balls and one off a right-hander, he’s got big power,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He did a nice job of getting us back in the game.”

Austin’s sixth inning homer traveled 441 feet, marking the farthest ball hit by a Giants player this season. Thursday was also Austin’s fourth career multi-home run game and his first since he hit two for the Minnesota Twins on August 26, 2018 against the Oakland A’s.

After erasing deficits of 8-0 and 4-0 in Cincinnati at the beginning of the road trip, the Giants fell behind 7-0 in the second inning of Thursday’s game. Starter Derek Holland allowed back-to-back first inning homers to Rockies sluggers Nolan Arenado and Mark Reynolds while Ian Desmond took Holland deep to center field in the bottom of the second.

“You can’t use weather as an excuse because both guys got to pitch in it,” Holland said. “You’re not going to hear me ever complain about that. There is no adjusting. You just go out there and pitch.”

The Giants have made a habit of digging huge first inning holes –they were outscored 17-0 in the first in six games on their road trip– but they finished 3-3 on their road trip thanks to an offense that enjoyed its best week of the season.

“It was a steep hill to climb, but we did it,” Bochy said. “They kept tacking on and hey, I’m good with how they battled back.”

The recent offensive outbursts came in two of the most hitter-friendly stadiums in the league –Great American Ball Park and Coors Field– and also occurred as Giants pitchers went ice cold.

Holland became the fourth different Giants pitcher to allow at least seven earned runs on the six-game road trip as the club’s starters posted a 14.29 ERA in 22 2/3 innings. Starters allowed nine first inning homers in three games, including three in a three-game series that was shortened to two in Colorado due to Wednesday’s postponement.

“Obviously the starting pitching, that was a tough series in Cincinnati and of course today,” Bochy said. “So that’s what we’ve got to get fixed.”

After Austin’s homer tied the game in the top of the sixth, relievers Tyler Beede and Mark Melancon combined to allow the Rockies to regain a three-run edge in the bottom of the inning. Vogt delivered an RBI double in the eighth, but a road trip filled with that began with a heroic performance from Vogt ended with the catcher swinging and missing at a breaking ball.

Posey was hit in the side of his catcher’s mask by a foul ball in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game in Cincinnati and said he was still feeling lingering symptoms a few days later. Posey was officially diagnosed with a concussion on Wednesday and hopes to miss just seven days.

Kerry Crowley is a multimedia beat reporter covering the San Francisco Giants. He spent his early days throwing curveballs in San Francisco’s youth leagues before studying journalism at Arizona State University. Kerry has covered every level of baseball, from local preps to the Cape Cod League, and is now on a quest to determine which Major League city serves the best cheeseburger.